I recently picked up a set of Haig Ultra 2-9 iron. So many sets on Ebay seem to be missing PWs for some reason. Perhaps they sell them separately!?!?!? My question: Based on your playing experience, Is there any wedges out there better than others? Would it be best to find a PW from the matching/similar set? Or do you know of any vintage specialty pitching wedges? What is your personal preference in the vintage PW?
You will probably get a response from someone both better and more knowledgeable, but I have done my share of mixing and matching wedges. My experience is that if the look and spec of a PW is similar, I don’t think it needs to match the set.
My understanding is that a lot of sets before about 1970 were just sold without PW. It was an upcharge to get the wedge that not everyone paid. Your 9-iron is going to be about the spec of a modern PW, so a lot of folks just used the 9 as their pitching club.
I’d bet that a Dynapower of similar vintage would work quite nicely with your Haigs. Wilson for some reason seemed to sell more sets with the PW – or at least old Wilson wedges seem to me to be easier to find than other marks.
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I guess it would also depend on bounce preferences. Do some vintage PWs have more or less bounce than others? Is there a bounce preference for “hitting” protocols?
I play vintage irons down to the 9 Iron and then use modern 50, 54, 58 wedges. Some old wedges are great, but they don’t spin the ball the way I want. I can hit low spinners and other things with modern wedges. New groves and milled faces go a long way IMO.
But, assuming you want vintage throughout, I think that’s up to you whether you prioritize a matched set. I do like the older Wilson wedges, and imagine many of those would serve you well. I’m generally a fan of most vintage Wilson irons and wedges - they made a lot of great stuff.
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Wilson made the best wedges in that era. The vintage 9 irons were 44-45* of loft, and the pitching wedges were 50-53, depending on the make. Wilson Staff wedges (Tour Blade ones from the 70s are my favorite) were generally 50 if labeled as a pitching wedge. Macgregor DS, or Dual Service wedges, or the 11 irons would be slightly higher in loft, depending on the exact year and individual iron (they didn’t have standardized, published specs in those days, so you need to put every club in a loft/lie machine or use a gauge). The DS wedges from the 60s frequently had a channel ground into the sole, which makes them easy to identify. The aforementioned clubs were never sold as part of the sets, so no need to use a matching one. Just find one you like.
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